Portable and adjustable desktop workstation

ABSTRACT

According to principles of the present inventive concepts, a desktop workstation in configured to be supported on an existing work surface and enable adjustment of a height of a work surface between a lowered and a raised position. In a lowered position, the work surface is arranged at a height from the existing work surface that facilitates use by a user in a seated position and, in a raised position, the work surface is arranged at a height from the existing work surface that facilitates use by the user in a standing position.

PRIORITY CLAIM

This application claims priority from U.S. Provisional PatentApplication Ser. No. 61/729,591, filed Nov. 24, 2012, the contents ofwhich are hereby incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

BACKGROUND

1. Field of the Inventive Concepts

The present inventive concepts relate generally to ergonomic adjustabledesktop work stands. More particularly, these inventive concepts relateto a desktop work surface that can accommodate one or more monitors andkeyboard and is easily adjustable between two or more positions tofacilitate use in either a standing or seated position.

2. Related Art

A growing body of medical research suggests that sitting for eight ormore hours a day is associated with an increased incidence of healthproblems. Various prior attempts have been made to facilitate use of acomputer in a standing position, including, for instance, U.S. Pat. Nos.4,865,403; 4,986,193; 5,037,056; 7,677,518; 7,765,940; and 8,061,278.

The emerging market of conventional devices designed to provide astand-up computing environment can generally be categorized into one oftwo types. The first requires a user to purchase an entirely newadjustable desk that replaces their existing furniture. This approach,however, is expensive and impractical for most people. In addition tothe cost, many people have to work with, and sometimes share, existingoffice equipment. The second approach involves placing a low-cost deviceon top of an existing work surface to raise the height of the worksurface to accommodate use in a stand-up position. Though affordable,this arrangement requires a full-time commitment to a standing postureand is not readily adaptable to a person's changing circumstances or anoffice environment where equipment is shared by individuals withdifferent preferences. In addition, the size and configuration of mostof these devices limits options with respect to the variety and quantityof equipment that can be used at a workstation.

Unfortunately, prior to the present inventive concepts, there has notbeen a portable desktop workstation that permits easy adjustment of theworkstation surface between two or more positions to readily facilitateuse in either a sitting or standing position.

SUMMARY

According to various embodiments and principles of the present inventiveconcepts, a desktop workstation can provide numerous improvements overthe prior art. For instance, a desktop workstation according to theinventive concepts can accommodate one or more monitors and a keyboardand can be easily adjusted to allow a user to work from either astanding or sitting position.

According to principles of the present inventive concepts, a desktopworkstation provides a platform that accommodates a variety of equipmentand which can be placed on existing office furniture (i.e., a desktop),while allowing a user to easily adjust between sitting or standingpositions as needed.

According to one aspect of the present inventive concepts, a desktopworkstation can be used on existing desktops, office areas, tables, andother surfaces and provides easily adjustable positions. A user mayquickly alternate between use in either sitting or standing positionswith ease throughout the work day. The workstation therefore also allowsone workstation to be adjusted for multiple users with different needsand preferences. It also provides the user a standing desktop surfacework area that accommodates a wide variety of equipment and uses, forinstance, accommodating multiple monitors. It further does not requirepermanent installation or fixing of monitors and keyboards to thedevice.

The desktop workstation according to principles of the present inventiveconcepts can be affordable, portable, lightweight, and can furtherinclude an aesthetically pleasing high end furniture design such as anatural wood construction with options for custom stains or materials.

In one embodiment. the desktop workstation comprises one or more worksurfaces that can be configured to support one or more monitors, akeyboard and a mouse. The work surfaces are preferably supported by aleg assembly that permits the work surfaces to be arranged on a desktop,table, or other existing work surface in two or more height positions,including at least one raised position and one lowered position.

The leg assembly may, for instance, include a scissored leg assemblythat supports the workstation at multiple heights. One or more ends ofthe leg assembly can be connected to the work surface(s) using a trackassembly that permits a leg connection to slide along the track whileremaining connected to the work surface. One or more biasing mechanisms,such as springs, can be used to bias the workstation height in a stableposition at either its raised or lowered positions. The biasingmechanisms can further facilitate easy transition between the loweredand the raised positions.

An adjustment mechanism can include a rod connected to a sliding rail.The sliding rail can be connected to the legs and configured to slidealong the track assembly to raise and lower the work platform. The rodcan further pass through a spring loaded release lever arranged on aside of the workstation platform. The rod can have a frictionalengagement with the release lever to bias the workstation in its raisedposition until the release lever is depressed.

Various aspects, embodiments, and configurations of the inventiveconcepts are possible without departing from the principles disclosedherein. The inventive concepts are therefore not limited to any of theparticular aspects, embodiments, or configurations described herein.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

The foregoing and additional objects, features, and advantages of thepresent inventive concepts will become more readily apparent from thefollowing detailed description of preferred embodiments, made withreference to the attached drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a somewhat schematic perspective view of a desktop workstationin a raised position with a monitor and keyboard arranged on topaccording to one embodiment incorporating principles of the presentinventive concepts;

FIG. 2 is a somewhat schematic bottom plan view of the workstation ofFIG. 1 showing components arranged below the upper work surface(s);

FIG. 3 is a somewhat schematic axonometric exploded perspective view ofthe desktop workstation of FIG. 1 further illustrating components andconstruction of the workstation;

FIG. 4 is a somewhat schematic exploded perspective view of uppercomponents of the workstation of FIG. 1; and

FIGS. 5A and 5B are somewhat schematic sectional views, taken along lineA-A in FIG. 3, illustrating the workstation of FIG. 1 in raised andlowered positions, respectively.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF ILLUSTRATIVE EMBODIMENTS

Various features, benefits, and configurations incorporating principlesof the present inventive concepts in illustrative embodiments are shownand described in detail in the following description and accompanyingdrawings. Additional features, benefits and configurations will bereadily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art based on thisdisclosure, and all such features, benefits and configurations areconsidered within the scope of the present inventive concepts.

Various illustrative embodiments will now be described in connectionwith the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a somewhat schematicperspective view of an adjustable workstation or stand 100 constructedaccording to principles of the present inventive concepts, shownarranged in a raised position on a desktop surface 40 and supporting amonitor 50 and keyboard 55. Of course, rather than supporting a monitor50 and keyboard 55, the workstation 100 can support other equipment ordevices or can simply supply a work surface for performing other desiredtasks.

Referring initially to FIG. 1, the stand 100 operates using acombination of spring forces and surface friction acting through thelegs, track and rail assemblies, and the control rod/release lever toallow the workstation 100 to alternate between two or more stablepositions, including, for instance, a raised position and a loweredposition.

A top portion of this workstation 100 can, for instance, include twohorizontal platforms or work surfaces 110, 112. A larger upper (main)platform 110 can be configured to support one or more flat panelmonitors 50, while a lower (secondary) platform 112 can be sized to holda keyboard 55 and a mouse or other tracking device (not shown).Alternatively, the work surface can be a single platform or more thantwo platforms, depending on the equipment or tasks for which it is beingdesigned.

FIG. 2 is a somewhat schematic bottom plan view illustrating theunderside of the stand 100 of FIG. 1 and FIG. 3 is a somewhat schematicaxonometric exploded perspective view of the desktop workstation of FIG.1 further illustrating components and construction of the workstation.Referring additionally to FIGS. 2 and 3, a bottom assembly of theworkstation 100 can comprise an adjustment mechanism that facilitatesadjustment of the height of the platforms 110, 112 using a combinationof spring forces and surface friction acting through the legs, track andrail assemblies, and a control rod/release lever. The adjustmentmechanism can include, for instance, a leg assembly 120 having legsections 122, 124 connected together in a scissored assembly andattached to the upper platforms 110, 112 using a combination of fixedhinges 7 and a sliding horizontal rail 12 that moves as the stand 100 israised or lowered.

Extension springs 6 may be mounted to the underside of deck 1 of themain platform 110 to be used to bias a position of the legs and counterthe motion of the sliding rail 12 attached to the leg assembly 120. Asthe stand 100 is lowered, the spring tension counters the weight of theplatforms 110, 112 and equipment 50, 55 to create a state of neutralbuoyancy. This allows a user to lower the stand 100 with minimal effort.Due to the scissored leg configuration 120, the springs 6 act withvariable leverage relative to the position of the legs 30, 32. In thelowered position (see FIG. 5B) the springs 6 lose the advantage ofleverage which allows the stand 100 to remain static in the loweredposition until the user actively lifts up on the stand 100.

A control rod (e.g., a steel rod) 14 can be mounted to the sliding rail12 such that it passes through the right (or left) side of the monitorplatform 110. The rod 14 also preferably passes through a spring-loadedrelease lever 15 on a right (or left) side of the stand 100. When thestand 100 is raised, the rod 14 follows the motion of the rail 12 andpasses freely through an opening in the lever mechanism 15 pulled byspring tension towards the center of the stand 100.

When the springs 6 reach their biased (shortened) length and the stand100 is in its upper position (see also FIG. 5A), surface friction from asidewall of the opening in the release lever 15 against the rod 14prevents the rod 14 and rail 12 from moving out from the center of thestand 100 unless the release lever 15 is actively depressed by the userto reduce or remove the frictional force. This mechanism allows formicro adjustments in the final height of the raised stand 100 and actsas a safety mechanism to ensure that the stand 100 is not inadvertentlylowered and can instead be safely lowered in a controlled fashion.

Specific components of a preferred embodiment of the inventive conceptswill now be described in further detail. The main (monitor) platform 110can include a deck 1 (constructed, for instance, of ¾″ plywood), andright, front, and left aprons 2, 3, and 4, respectively (constructed,for instance, of ¾″×2″ oak board). The front apron 3 and secondary(keyboard) platform 112 (including a keyboard deck 9 and edge banding10, 11) can be connected together using steel L-brackets 8.

The leg assembly 120 can include an inner leg assembly 122 and an outerleg assembly 124. The inner leg assembly 122 can include legs 30attached to each other through a fixed top rail 29 and a bottom rail 31.The outer leg assembly 124 can include legs 32 connected togetherthrough a bottom rail 33 and attached to the sliding rail 12 usinghinges 34. A threaded rod 38 can provide an attachment/pivot point forthe inner and outer leg assemblies, with washers 26 and nuts 24, 28arranged to hold the rod 38 and legs 30, 32 in place in a scissoredrelationship.

The inner leg assembly 122 can be mounted to the underside of the mainplatform 110 using hinges 7. The outer leg assembly 124 can be connectedto the main deck 1 indirectly through spring assemblies 126 (eachincluding a D-ring bracket 5, spring 6, eye bolt 35, washer 36, and nut37), the sliding rail 12, and a track assembly 136 (including, forinstance, a track (T-rack) retention block 18, tracks (T-racks) 19,T-bolts 20, nylon washers 21, compression springs 22, thumb knobs 23,and steel washers 25 (see also FIG. 4)).

The eye bolts 35 of the spring assemblies 126 bolt through the top ofthe outer legs 32 while the D-ring brackets 5 attach to the underside ofthe monitor deck 1. Steel hinges 34 attach the outer legs 32 to thesliding rail 12. The control rod 14 passes through an opening in therelease lever assembly (including a lever bar 15, a compression spring(e.g., music wire) 16, a T-bolt 17, a steel washer 26, a neoprene washer27, and a cap nut 28) and an opening in the right-side apron 2 of themain platform 110. The control rod 14 is further bolted through thesliding rail 12 and a ball knob 13 can be arranged on an end of thecontrol rod 14.

Referring now specifically to FIG. 3, this view shows the monitor 110and keyboard platforms 112 with the control rod assembly 130 and releaselever 15. The release lever 15 preferably mounts to the right-side apron2 of the main platform 110 with the control rod 14 feeding throughmating openings in the release lever 15 and apron 2. The control rod 14bolts through the sliding rail 12 underneath the monitor platform 110.The sliding rail 12 is connected to both the steel hinges 34 of theouter leg assembly 124 and the track assembly 136 (see also FIGS. 2, 4,5A and 5B). The complete leg assembly 120 is shown in an uprightposition with the eyebolt components 35, 36, 37 of the spring assembly126 bolted through the outer legs 32. The eyebolt components 35, 36, 37are also shown separate from the leg assembly 120 in this view. A viewof an all-thread assembly 132, including components 24, 26, 38, 39, isshown separate from the complete leg assembly 120 to illustrate thesequence and spacing of nuts 39 and washers 24, 26 along the threadedrod 38.

FIG. 4 is a somewhat schematic exploded view of an upper platformassembly of the stand 100. Referring now additionally to FIG. 4, thisview illustrates the separate components of the platforms 110, 112,control rod assembly 130, release lever assembly 115, track assembly 136and sliding rail 12. As explained previously, in one embodiment, themain platform 110 can comprise a ¾″ plywood deck 1 and a ¾″ wood apron3, 2, 4 wrapping the front, right, and left sides, respectively of thedeck 1. Three components mount to the underside of the plywood deck 1,including the inner leg assembly 122, the spring assemblies 126, and thetrack assembly 136.

The inner leg assembly 122 is attached to the deck 1 with steel hinges7. The spring assemblies 126 are attached to the deck through the D-ringbrackets 5. The tracks 18 of the track assembly 136 are set into routedgrooves on the underside of the deck 1. More specifically, the tracks 18can be secured to the deck by a mounting block 18 at one end and bydrilling two holes into in the back of the right apron 4 to receive theother end of the tracks. These mounting locations are indicated by thedashed lines on the underside of the deck 1 in FIG. 4.

The smaller, secondary platform 112 can include a ½″ plywood deck 9 toprovide a keyboard platform. The deck 9 can be edged with ¾″ woodbanding 10, 11 and mounts to the front apron 3 on the main platform 110with two steel L-brackets 8. Holes can be provided in the front apron 3to accommodate equipment cords, such as keyboard and mouse cords, forinstance. Mounting locations for the steel brackets 8 are againindicated with dashed lines.

The lever bar 15 of the release lever assembly 115 can be bolted to theright apron 2 of the monitor platform 110 with a ¼″ T-bolt 17 securedwith a neoprene washer 27 and cap nut 28. The ⅜″ control rod 14 feedsthrough a hole in the lever bar 15, a compression spring 16, a ⅜″ washer26 and then passes through a hole in the right apron 2 to bolt throughthe sliding rail 12 underneath the monitor deck 1. Two ¼″ T-bolts 20 canconnect the sliding rail 12 to the tracks 19 of the track assembly 136.These bolts 20 preferably pass through (in sequence) the slots in thetracks 19, ¼″ nylon washers 21, two ¼″ holes drilled through the slidingrail 12, ¼″ steel washers 25, compression springs 22, ¼″ steel washers25, and finally two ¼″ thumb knobs 23.

FIGS. 5A and 5B are somewhat schematic sectional views taken along lineA-A of FIG. 3, illustrating the workstation 100 in raised and loweredpositions, respectively. Referring first to FIG. 5A, the stand 100 isshown in an upright or raised position. In this position, the extensionsprings 6 are in their preferred, biased (shortened) state whichpositions the sliding rail 12 at the furthest point along the trackassembly 136 from the right side apron 2, and toward the center of theworkstation. The scissored leg assembly 120 can include inner and outerleg assemblies 122, 124, respectively, connected together by theall-thread assembly 132 to allow them to pivot between raised andlowered positions.

Referring now to FIG. 5B, the stand 100 is shown in a lowered position.In this position, the extension springs 6 are in an extended (stretched)state, which positions the sliding rail 12 at the point along the trackassembly 136 closest to the right side apron 2. In this loweredposition, due to the scissored leg configuration, the springs 6 lose theadvantage of leverage which allows the stand 100 to remain static in thelowered position until the user actively lifts up on the stand 100.

Having described and illustrated principles of the present inventiveconcepts in various preferred embodiments thereof, it should be apparentthat the inventive concepts can be modified in arrangement and detailwithout departing from such principles. Multiple alternate embodimentsof this device are also possible.

For instance, although the main embodiment has been described as havinga primarily wood construction, the device may be constructed out of anydesirable material or combination of materials (e.g., substituting metalor plastic parts for wood). The device could also be constructed usingmany different platform configurations (e.g., a single deep platforminstead of two platforms, or multiple platforms at the same or differentlevels). The device could also be constructed and purposed for manyalternate uses that require a similar type of dynamic desktop platform(e.g., a platform for writing or performing other tasks from either asitting or standing position). The device could further be designed andmanufactured to accommodate left-handed users (e.g., having the controlrod and release lever located on a left side of the workstation). Thedevice could also be augmented in various other ways, such as providingadjustable legs or feet that allow for multiple different raisedpositions and thereby permit a greater range in height adjustments.Springs with different ratings could also be used to accommodatedifferent expected loads. And air springs or other biasing mechanismsmay be substituted for extension springs to achieve a similar mechanicalaction. Still other variations and modifications will be apparent tothose skilled in the art based on the present disclosure.

What is claimed is:
 1. A workstation configured to rest on an existingwork surface and permit adjustment of a height of a work surfacerelative to the existing work surface, said work station comprising: awork surface comprising one or more work platforms; a leg assemblyconfigured to stably support the one or more work platforms at any ofmultiple user selectable height positions with respect to the existingwork surface; and an adjustment mechanism that permits a user toselectively adjust the height of the work surface between the multipleuser selectable height positions.
 2. A workstation according to claim 1,wherein the one or more work platforms comprise a main work platform anda secondary work platform arranged at different heights with respect toeach other and the existing work surface.
 3. A workstation according toclaim 2, wherein the main work platform is configured to support one ormore monitors and wherein the secondary work platform is configured tosupport a keyboard and a tracking device.
 4. A workstation according toclaim 1, wherein the one or more work platforms comprises a singleplatform configured to support one or more monitors and a keyboard.
 5. Aworkstation according to claim 1, wherein the leg assembly comprises afirst leg assembly and a second leg assembly connected together in ascissored relationship.
 6. A workstation according to claim 1, whereinthe first leg assembly is connected to the one or more work platforms ina fixed hinged relationship, and wherein the second leg assembly isconnected to the one or more work platforms in a sliding hingedrelationship.
 7. A workstation according to claim 6, wherein the slidinghinged relationship is provided using a sliding rail connected to thesecond leg assembly through one or more hinges, and wherein the slidingrail is connected to a track assembly attached to the one or more workplatforms.
 8. A workstation according to claim 1, wherein the multipleuser selectable height positions includes a lowered position tofacilitate use of the workstation by a user in a sitting position and araised position to facilitate use by a user in a standing position.
 9. Aworkstation according to claim 8, further comprising a biasing mechanismconfigured to bias the workstation in the raised position.
 10. Aworkstation according to claim 7, further comprising a control rodconnected to the sliding rail and configured to frictionally engage arelease lever, such that said control rod holds the workstation in adesired position until the release lever is actuated.
 11. An adjustableworkstation configured to be supported on an existing work surface, saidworkstation comprising: a work platform configured to be adjustablebetween a raised position to facilitate use by a user in a standingposition, and a lowered position to facilitate use by a user in asitting position; and an adjustment mechanism that permits the user toadjust the height of the work platform between the raised and loweredpositions.
 12. A workstation according to claim 12, further comprising aleg assembly arranged to support the work platform in either the raisedor lowered position depending on the user selection.
 13. A workstationaccording to claim 12, wherein the leg assembly comprises first andsecond leg assemblies connected together in a scissored relationship.14. A workstation according to claim 13, further comprising a slidingrail connected to the work platform in a sliding relationship, whereinthe first leg assembly is connected to the sliding rail to adjust alocation of an upper end of the first leg assembly with respect to thework platform.
 15. A workstation according to claim 14, furthercomprising a biasing mechanism configured to bias the sliding rail intoward a center of the work platform.
 16. A workstation configured torest on an existing work surface and permit adjustment of a height of awork platform relative to the existing work surface, said work stationcomprising: one or more work platforms; a leg assembly comprising firstand second leg assemblies connected together in a scissoredrelationship, said leg assembly configured to stably support the one ormore work platforms at any one of multiple user selectable heightpositions with respect to the existing work surface; a track assemblyarranged on the one or more work platforms, wherein an upper end of thesecond leg assembly is connected to one or more work platforms in aslidable relationship through the track assembly; and an adjustmentmechanism that permits a user to selectively adjust the height of thework surface between the multiple user selectable height positions. 17.A workstation according to claim 16, further comprising a slide railconnected to the track assembly to slide between a position near a sideof the work platform and a center of the work platform, wherein theslide rail is further connected to the upper end of the second legassembly in a hinged relationship.
 18. A workstation according to claim17, wherein the first leg assembly is connected to the work platform ina hinged relationship at a fixed position.
 19. A workstation accordingto claim 18, further comprising a biasing spring attached between theslide rail and a location on the work platform, wherein the biasingspring biases a position of the slide rail toward the center of theworkstation.
 20. A workstation according to claim 19, further comprisinga control rod connected to the slide rail and disposed through a releaselever arranged at a side of the workstation, wherein the release leveris configured to engage the control rod in a frictional relationship tomaintain the workstation in its raised position until the release leveris depressed.